Monday, January 31, 2011
NMSU vs. Northern Colorado in BracketBuster
While it won't be televised, NMSU's BracketBuster game will be Feb. 19 at home against Northern Colorado of the Big Sky Conference.
According to RealTimeRPI.com, Northern Colorado has a RPI ranking of 138 and the Aggies are at 130.
Once again, the only WAC team with an official televised BracketBuster game will be Utah State.
According to RealTimeRPI.com, Northern Colorado has a RPI ranking of 138 and the Aggies are at 130.
Once again, the only WAC team with an official televised BracketBuster game will be Utah State.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Aggies into second
I wonder if folks will jump back onto the bandwagon after a home stand?
Either way, the Aggies had to win both games or they would have been a middle of the pack WAC team — not good. They did what they had to, although neither game this weekend was pretty.
NMSU and Idaho combined for 43 turnovers, but NMSU hounded Idaho with 11 steals and Castillo came up big as the Vandals sent two or three guys at Gillenwater all night.
I'm curious as to what you thought about Idaho's defense. They entered the game giving up the second fewest points in WAC games (62.1 ppg). I thought they were solid defensively, shutting down the paint and collapsing on Gillenwater. It was only when the Aggies got out in transition during the Gordo Run that NMSU found some offense and then kind of choked the Vandals out, hitting 15 of 20 from the foul line in the second half.
At the end of the day, it was NMSU's 11th straight home win. The schedule finishes nicely for them before hosting Utah State and Nevada on the last weekend. They could win out until that weekend or they could drop one they shouldn't. Neither would surprise me.
Either way, the Aggies had to win both games or they would have been a middle of the pack WAC team — not good. They did what they had to, although neither game this weekend was pretty.
NMSU and Idaho combined for 43 turnovers, but NMSU hounded Idaho with 11 steals and Castillo came up big as the Vandals sent two or three guys at Gillenwater all night.
I'm curious as to what you thought about Idaho's defense. They entered the game giving up the second fewest points in WAC games (62.1 ppg). I thought they were solid defensively, shutting down the paint and collapsing on Gillenwater. It was only when the Aggies got out in transition during the Gordo Run that NMSU found some offense and then kind of choked the Vandals out, hitting 15 of 20 from the foul line in the second half.
At the end of the day, it was NMSU's 11th straight home win. The schedule finishes nicely for them before hosting Utah State and Nevada on the last weekend. They could win out until that weekend or they could drop one they shouldn't. Neither would surprise me.
Idaho just got bigger
La Tech topped Boise State on Saturday as the Aggies play from behind against Idaho
I expect an NMSU win. They may not blow out the Vandals but Menzies is 7-1 against Idaho.
I don't expect it to be as close as Thursday against Boise. Watch Barone and Ledbetter. Ledbetter is a shooter the Aggies shut down in the first game. Barone is a skilled big man that had 22 and 9 in the first game.
I expect an NMSU win. They may not blow out the Vandals but Menzies is 7-1 against Idaho.
I don't expect it to be as close as Thursday against Boise. Watch Barone and Ledbetter. Ledbetter is a shooter the Aggies shut down in the first game. Barone is a skilled big man that had 22 and 9 in the first game.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Boise State game
I felt like I was forced to watch the ugliest game of basketball ever in the first half, only to turn into a good win for NMSU.
The Aggies were outworked in the first half and players and coaches all knew it. I asked Marvin Menzies if he was surprised by the lack of effort in the first half in a game against one of the teams ahead of NMSU in the standings, who had already beaten them. You would think they would be ready to play right? But not the case.
"It was a significant win because if we would have lost, we would have been at 4-4 and would have been at the bottom half of the conference so this was a key win," said Tyrone Watson, who scored a career high 17 and led NMSU with 10 rebounds.
Watson was 6-for-10 from the foul line, including two in the last 1:10 that put NMSU up two.
It looked like it was going to be more of the same in the second half. There was one play that happened in front of me where Paul Noonan dove for a loose ball. I think it was Gordo who he wrestled it free from on the floor, but the other four NMSU players were watching as Noonan threw a pass from his butt to Ryan Watkins, who was fouled on the other end. It put Boise up 46-41 as Boise went up eight with 14:52 left.
But then the Aggies showed up.
"At the end of the day, when we needed good possessions and we needed high percentage shots and we needed stops, we got them in winning time. We got them when we needed them and that's really what matters in the end. All of that other stuff we can learn and get better at," Menzies said.
I've written this before, but I think what makes the Aggies a contender is they are one of few teams in the WAC with a closer.
If it's a close game, Gillenwater can take over, as shown in the OT when he scored NMSU's first seven points and put the Aggies up for good.
"Troy was just a warrior tonight. I want to commend him on his ability to play within himself in the second half and not get frustrated," Menzies said. "When you need to win games, you need a go-to guy. You need somebody that they have to be concerned with."
Menzies said it was the Broncos' focus on Gillenwater that opened the way for career-high scoring nights from Watson and Hernst Laroche.
What stood out to me outside of the stat line (34 points, 12-20, 2-3 3-pt, 8 boards, 1 blk) was that he imposed his will on the game. Haven't really seen that this year, but it's a good sign for the stretch run.
"I guess that's just the way it kind of happened but I didn't want to lose so I was going to do whatever it takes to win," Gillenwater said.
He also did it with four fouls, after picking up his fourth with 8:27 left in regulation.
"It was tough because right after I picked up my fourth, I think Montreal scored two in a row on me. That's tough to get scored on like that. We switched and I guarded Watkins and I think Chile guarded Montreal so that's how I was able to stay without getting fouled out."
Gillenwater's responsibility in the second half and OT was extended to bringing the ball up the court as the Broncos pressure bothered NMSU all night.
"They were pressing us and Troy can handle it," Menzies said. "There was no reason for us to force the issue. We wanted to get a good possession in. Some of those guys played a lot of minutes but he has the ability to do that."
Gillenwater didn't get a touch on the Aggies' last possession of regulation. It didn't turn out to matter but Menzies said the idea was to get Gillenwater the ball but the Aggies rushed and Laroche ended up taking a jumper from the elbow with 3 seconds left.
"We had plenty of time," said Menzies, whose team got the ball back with 28 seconds left after La'Shard Anderson tied it. "I called a play but we didn't get it executed and we took the shot too early. It's supposed to be a last second shot but we went too early. They did a great job with the pressure. We were trying to get Troy in an Isolation situation but they jumped out and denied it. There is an option that we have if they do that but we didn't get to it."
There were times in the first half where it looked as if Laroche had never faced pressure before, leaving his feet or getting trapped. He committed four of his eight turnovers in the first half, but seemed more in control in the second half.
"That (8 turnovers) might be a record too," Menzies said. "A record that I wouldn't care to see again. They had a defensive gameplan for him. They were going to climb into him and guard him with different guys. They were going to make him work harder than he normally has to and they did a good job and forced those turnovers."
Tre Nichols came out of nowhere to score 18 for the Broncos, spelling La'Shard Anderson. Nichols scored 11 in the first half, finding the paint whenever he wanted against Laroche, Watson or the NMSU zone.
"He's a shooter but he kind of did out of the ordinary from what we expected from him," Watson said. "We just had to contain him because he was very hot. We had to stop him and really contest his shots because he was getting hot."
Menzies said,
"The way our defense was designed, (Laroche) should have had more help. We were shading (Nichols) to one side but he probably gave him a little too much, which allowed that penetration to happen. That's something we can clean up but we played hard."
Boise State outrebounded NMSU by one in the first half, but the Aggies outrebounded an opponent for the first time in three games, finishing the game with a 44-34 edge on the boards.
"It was just an emphasis at halftime," said Gillenwater, who had eight boards. "They were beating us on the boards. We came upstairs and talked about it. They outhustled us and got to a lot of 50-50 balls that we should have got. They played extremely hard. You have to give them credit. They kind of caught us offguard a little bit."
The Aggies were outworked in the first half and players and coaches all knew it. I asked Marvin Menzies if he was surprised by the lack of effort in the first half in a game against one of the teams ahead of NMSU in the standings, who had already beaten them. You would think they would be ready to play right? But not the case.
"It was a significant win because if we would have lost, we would have been at 4-4 and would have been at the bottom half of the conference so this was a key win," said Tyrone Watson, who scored a career high 17 and led NMSU with 10 rebounds.
Watson was 6-for-10 from the foul line, including two in the last 1:10 that put NMSU up two.
It looked like it was going to be more of the same in the second half. There was one play that happened in front of me where Paul Noonan dove for a loose ball. I think it was Gordo who he wrestled it free from on the floor, but the other four NMSU players were watching as Noonan threw a pass from his butt to Ryan Watkins, who was fouled on the other end. It put Boise up 46-41 as Boise went up eight with 14:52 left.
But then the Aggies showed up.
"At the end of the day, when we needed good possessions and we needed high percentage shots and we needed stops, we got them in winning time. We got them when we needed them and that's really what matters in the end. All of that other stuff we can learn and get better at," Menzies said.
I've written this before, but I think what makes the Aggies a contender is they are one of few teams in the WAC with a closer.
If it's a close game, Gillenwater can take over, as shown in the OT when he scored NMSU's first seven points and put the Aggies up for good.
"Troy was just a warrior tonight. I want to commend him on his ability to play within himself in the second half and not get frustrated," Menzies said. "When you need to win games, you need a go-to guy. You need somebody that they have to be concerned with."
Menzies said it was the Broncos' focus on Gillenwater that opened the way for career-high scoring nights from Watson and Hernst Laroche.
What stood out to me outside of the stat line (34 points, 12-20, 2-3 3-pt, 8 boards, 1 blk) was that he imposed his will on the game. Haven't really seen that this year, but it's a good sign for the stretch run.
"I guess that's just the way it kind of happened but I didn't want to lose so I was going to do whatever it takes to win," Gillenwater said.
He also did it with four fouls, after picking up his fourth with 8:27 left in regulation.
"It was tough because right after I picked up my fourth, I think Montreal scored two in a row on me. That's tough to get scored on like that. We switched and I guarded Watkins and I think Chile guarded Montreal so that's how I was able to stay without getting fouled out."
Gillenwater's responsibility in the second half and OT was extended to bringing the ball up the court as the Broncos pressure bothered NMSU all night.
"They were pressing us and Troy can handle it," Menzies said. "There was no reason for us to force the issue. We wanted to get a good possession in. Some of those guys played a lot of minutes but he has the ability to do that."
Gillenwater didn't get a touch on the Aggies' last possession of regulation. It didn't turn out to matter but Menzies said the idea was to get Gillenwater the ball but the Aggies rushed and Laroche ended up taking a jumper from the elbow with 3 seconds left.
"We had plenty of time," said Menzies, whose team got the ball back with 28 seconds left after La'Shard Anderson tied it. "I called a play but we didn't get it executed and we took the shot too early. It's supposed to be a last second shot but we went too early. They did a great job with the pressure. We were trying to get Troy in an Isolation situation but they jumped out and denied it. There is an option that we have if they do that but we didn't get to it."
There were times in the first half where it looked as if Laroche had never faced pressure before, leaving his feet or getting trapped. He committed four of his eight turnovers in the first half, but seemed more in control in the second half.
"That (8 turnovers) might be a record too," Menzies said. "A record that I wouldn't care to see again. They had a defensive gameplan for him. They were going to climb into him and guard him with different guys. They were going to make him work harder than he normally has to and they did a good job and forced those turnovers."
Tre Nichols came out of nowhere to score 18 for the Broncos, spelling La'Shard Anderson. Nichols scored 11 in the first half, finding the paint whenever he wanted against Laroche, Watson or the NMSU zone.
"He's a shooter but he kind of did out of the ordinary from what we expected from him," Watson said. "We just had to contain him because he was very hot. We had to stop him and really contest his shots because he was getting hot."
Menzies said,
"The way our defense was designed, (Laroche) should have had more help. We were shading (Nichols) to one side but he probably gave him a little too much, which allowed that penetration to happen. That's something we can clean up but we played hard."
Boise State outrebounded NMSU by one in the first half, but the Aggies outrebounded an opponent for the first time in three games, finishing the game with a 44-34 edge on the boards.
"It was just an emphasis at halftime," said Gillenwater, who had eight boards. "They were beating us on the boards. We came upstairs and talked about it. They outhustled us and got to a lot of 50-50 balls that we should have got. They played extremely hard. You have to give them credit. They kind of caught us offguard a little bit."
The Aggies center duo of Hamidu Rahman and Chili Nephawe combined for 14 points and nine rebounds. It would be nice to see Rahman improve to those numbers on his own, but he made some strong moves on Thursday and played well in 26 minutes.
"It was something that has been lacking," Menzies said. "14 and 9 from that position, that's solid. We can deal with that. We can't deal with three rebounds or two, which is what we have been getting. That helps for the absence of Wendell."
Watson seemed to say that Thursday's first half was a wake up call. You would think it won't happen again on Saturday.
"It was really bizarre," Menzies said. "Our lack of intensity and it was collective. It was like, what's going on guys? We visited on it very heart to heart at the half. You have to give them all the credit. The game is 40 minutes, not 20 minutes. At the end of the day, you have to look at the 40 and at 40 we were tied and in 5 we were better and it's what we needed."
Monday, January 24, 2011
Halfway home: Looking back, ahead at Aggies and WAC
While the halfway point is still a game away, we can already see some trends developing for the New Mexico State men’s basketball team, as well as the Western Athletic Conference.
The Aggies have hovered around .500 all season. Now 10-11, it should come as no surprise their conference record is also average. NMSU sits at 4-3 in WAC play, but since the Aggies begin their second trip through most league opponents this weekend, it seemed like a good time to look back and ahead.
With a new look for the WAC Tournament bracket, which awards the top two teams a bye into the semifinals, there could be cause for concern regarding the Aggies current spot in fifth place.
NMSU was the first team with a conference road win, beating Idaho on opening weekend. On that same trip, the Aggies outplayed Boise State for 30 minutes before losing by three. Their home win against Fresno State (who came into the Pan American Center 3-0 in the conference) isn’t as impressive, since the Bulldogs have lost their last four.
The second-half schedule also provides reason for optimism. NMSU plays five of its last nine WAC games at the Pan Am.
Boise State and Idaho make the return trip to Las Cruces this weekend. The Aggies follow that up with a road game at Fresno State (3-4) and back-to-back games against winless Louisiana Tech. The Aggies then make the always challenging San Jose State/Hawaii road trip, which appears easier than in past years.
It all sets the Aggies up for meaningful home games against Utah State (March 2) and Nevada (March 5) to close out the season.
After an up and down start, that’s all the Aggies could ask for.
•••
From an individual standpoint, NMSU junior forward Troy Gillenwater has been terrific.
Gillenwater leads the league in scoring in WAC play and has showed toughness in his first year as a starter, playing through a foot and ankle injury.
Due to early-season injuries, young players have been asked to step in right away. Some have responded better than others.
It’s unfair and unrealistic to expect much from freshmen or sophomores playing for the first time. You take what you can get from young guys.
One player who needs to return to form for the Aggies to contend is junior center Hamidu Rahman. Rahman has missed games due to a calf injury this season, but even before the injury, his production was less than what we expected from him entering the year. Throughout his career at NMSU, Rahman has shown the ability to get up for big games. He needs to do so to take some pressure off Gillenwater and the younger players.
•••
Other things that have stood out to me:
Northern Aggies on their way: Utah State has won a piece of three straight WAC regular season championships. At 7-0 in league play and riding a 21-game regular season conference win streak, the UtAgs seem well on their way to a fourth.
Idaho causing trouble: I was worried about Idaho entering the season after the team lost its best player in point guard Mac Hopson, as well as one of the top defensive big men in the conference in center Marvin Jefferson.
I don’t want to take anything away from the Vandals, who started 5-1 in conference play. But I can’t help myself. Of Idaho’s first five wins, the Vandals’ opponents were a combined 9-23 entering Saturday’s games. Only Nevada, at 3-3, was .500 or better.
The Vandals fell to Boise State by three on Saturday to move both clubs to 5-2.
Idaho is second in the WAC is scoring defense (60.9 points per game) and first in field goal defense, holding teams to 38 percent shooting.
WAC staying put: The WAC has a conference RPI of 15, according to RealTimeRPI.com. Not bad, but not great and it won’t get any better. Utah State (43 RPI) is the only conference club in the top 150, but the UtAgs have a schedule strength of 205. Boise State has the next highest RPI at 158.
First half all stars: If I was voting for a first-team All-WAC right now, here it is.
La’Shard Anderson (Boise State point guard) — Anderson’s 2.8 steals and 5.2 assists per game lead the WAC. In conference play, he’s also second in scoring at 17.9 points per game.
Adrian Oliver (San Jose State guard) — Oliver has the two highest scoring outputs of any WAC player of 42 and 35 points. He leads the conference in scoring at 23.3 points per game.
Troy Gillenwater (New Mexico State forward) — Gillenwater is second behind Oliver in scoring with 19 points for the season, shooting 36 percent from 3-point range in WAC games. He’s also seventh in rebounding with 7.1 per game.
Tai Wesley (Utah State forward) — Wesley has taken leadership of the UtAgs, scoring 16.3 points and pulling down 7.1 rebounds per game in WAC play.
Dario Hunt (Nevada center) — Hunt has responded to the challenge of adding offense to his game as a sophomore, scoring 13.3 points per game in league play and shooting 65 percent (second in WAC). He’s also fourth in rebounding with 7.9 and first in blocked shots with 2.3 per game.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Halftime
The Aggies are 4-3 as they start playing teams for the second time this weekend and they have played everyone except La. Tech.
It could have been better, but at the same time 4-3 isn't the end of the world. I'm writing a column for Tuesday on my impressions for the Aggies and the WAC halfway through and will post it online when I'm done. I wanted to start a thread to see what has stood out to you league wide, with the Aggies, etc.
It could have been better, but at the same time 4-3 isn't the end of the world. I'm writing a column for Tuesday on my impressions for the Aggies and the WAC halfway through and will post it online when I'm done. I wanted to start a thread to see what has stood out to you league wide, with the Aggies, etc.
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